Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has persistently mentioned he needed to be a Blue Jay for his complete profession.
The two sides have agreed on a long-term megadeal that might very nicely make that occur.
The 26-year-old first baseman and Canada’s lone big-league workforce have agreed on a 14-year contract extension price $500 million US, a supply advised The Canadian Press early Monday morning.
The deal, which is pending a bodily, was additionally being reported by Sportsnet, ESPN and The Athletic. CBC Sports has not independently confirmed the experiences.
The workforce has but to verify the extension. The Blue Jays, presently on a 10-day highway journey, are scheduled to open a four-game sequence in Boston on Monday evening.
Guerrero is within the remaining yr of his present contract. Without an extension, the four-time all-star might have hit free company this fall.
Guerrero’s deal doesn’t embody any deferred cash, based on a number of media retailers, with columnist Jon Heyman of the New York Post reporting a full no-trade clause and signing bonus is a part of the settlement.
The deal is by far essentially the most profitable in franchise historical past, far surpassing the six-year, $150-million deal outfielder George Springer signed as a free agent in January 2021.
Vlad Guerrero Jr. gained $200M-plus by ready a bit greater than a yr. The Jays’ supply earlier than the 2024 season was round $300M. But after he posted a .940 OPS in 2024 and Juan Soto signed for $765M the panorama modified and he obtained $500M.
Entire profession spent in Toronto
The Blue Jays took swings on the sport’s high free brokers this previous low season, together with Juan Soto, who signed an MLB-record $765-million pact over 15 years with the New York Mets, earlier than extending one among their very own stars.
Guerrero, who hit .323 final season with 30 homers and 103 runs batted in, has spent his complete big-league profession in Toronto.
Guerrero’s $35.71-million common annual worth underneath the brand new deal ranks eighth amongst present contracts. Ohtani ($70 million) leads the way in which in AAV with Soto ($51 million) behind him.
Former Blue Jays basic supervisor Alex Anthopoulos signed Guerrero as a 16-year-old in July 2015. At the time, Guerrero was ranked fourth on MLB.com’s top-30 listing of worldwide prospects.
A Montreal native who represents the Dominican Republic internationally, Guerrero performed third base in his rookie yr earlier than transferring throughout the diamond within the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
His finest yr got here in 2021, when he completed second within the American League MVP race after hitting .311 with 48 homers and 111 RBI.
Guerrero received a Gold Glove in ’22 however his offensive numbers slipped a bit, a development that continued in ’23. He was again in high type final yr although, anchoring the lineup with a .940 OPS and .544 slugging share.
The extension was a giant accomplishment for basic supervisor Ross Atkins and the workforce’s entrance workplace, who have been slammed by the workforce’s fan base and pilloried by native media for a few of their decisions final winter.
Door left open for additional talks
The workforce did signal slugger Anthony Santander to a five-year deal however in any other case struck out in its try to land high free-agent expertise. When Guerrero’s mid-February negotiation deadline handed with out a deal, the pile-on continued.
Citing the need to restrict distractions at coaching camp and through the season, Guerrero deliberate to place contract talks on maintain. The four-time all-star did, nonetheless, go away the door open for the resumption of talks.
Reports surfaced in early March the Blue Jays had provided Guerrero a deal within the $400-$450 million vary. Another volley appeared to return a few weeks later when experiences mentioned the workforce made one other supply.
The two sides have been ultimately in a position to agree on an extension simply over every week into the common season.
Guerrero didn’t homer in his first 10 video games this season. Entering play Monday, he has a .256 common and 4 RBI.
Guerrero and the workforce prevented arbitration for 2025 when the 2 sides settled on a wage of $28.5 million. His new deal would run by way of the 2039 season.
Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, a two-time all-star, stays eligible without cost company after this yr’s World Series.
Guerrero was awarded $19.9 million for 2024 when an arbitration panel picked his request over the workforce’s supply of $18.05 million.
Guerrero hit .381 over 95 minor-league video games in 2018 and made his big-league debut with Toronto in April 2019.
His father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, was a nine-time all-star and 2004 AL MVP.
